Physics of Batik : Creative Implementation through Fractal Nature on Batik Computationally (PART 1)

Uniqueness of Batik
Batik is a textile work that is very familiar to Indonesian and even used as symbol of Indonesian. Batik is closely related to Javanese ethnic culture in Indonesia since the era of Raden Wijaya from Majapahit Kingdom (1294-1309). But beside of textile with batik motives in Java, there are islands outside Java having batik motives such as in Sumatera, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Batik was initially used to give motive to decoration, sarong, kopiah, blouse, and even head scarf. The interesting about it is that batik is not a simple concept at all, even from its etymology. Batik represents unique and elaborate ornament in its colors, motives, geometric shape. But the most important is that batik represents a process from motives and ornaments making shown.

Batik process, in verb is called as mbatik, is not a simple thing to so. Multiperspective is shown from its ornament as the result of a process and stages of interesting pseudo-algorithmic. According The Impact of Time and Environment by H Santosa Doellah as published by Danar Hadi, there are at least 3 stages in batik ornament process :
1. Klowongan: Is a process of drawing and creating basic elements of batik design generally.
2. Isen-isen : Is a process filling certain parts of ornament pattern. There are various patterns that are used traditionally, such as cecek, sawut, cecek sawut and sisik melik motive.
3. Harmony Ornamentation : Putting various background of design entirely that creating harmony holistically. Patterns used usually are ukel, galur, gringsing and several arrangements to create modifications of isen pattern, such as sekar sedhah, rembyang, sekar pacar.

Fractal : Geometric of Batik
One thing that makes batik interesting is that batik is a process created from a cognitive system and depiction of nature and environment. Batik is created through mapping of objects of the batik painter, cognition articulation, and psychomotoric aspects in batik works.
Though batik can not be seen by releasing its context and making process, motive and ornament of batik have interesting high complexity.
From geometric shapes, we tend to relate this to geometric of Western Aristotelian, which sees geometric dimension as natural numbers. 1 Dimension as lines, 2 Dimension as planes and 3 Dimension as solids. But the world is not as simple as that. The long history of science takes us to reality of science. In the history of science philosophy, science reacts positive to reality, science is unlimited, reductionism finally took us to main and fundamental explanation, and so on.
Weird things happened is considered as random, Science is veri confident that eventually meta-mathematics starts to question arithmetic (Kurt Godel), Philosophy starts to discuss about paradox and the validity of deduction (Bertrand Russel), Sociology starts to talk about postmodernism (Jean Francois Lyotard), waves of multi-perspective such as dadaism in painting, psycodelic in music, and many more in other parts of science and modern arts, including questions about length of coast line and that geometric starts to acquainted with fractal concept (BEnoit Mandelbrot). Philosophy of science comes to realize that there is a matter in seeing how we see the world. Reductionism of science philosophy is questioned when finally, generally we aware that ‘the holistic is bigger than the amounts of its parts’.
The world is not linear, and current science should aware of that. Even philosophically, current science should not stand alone with tradition and conventionalism. Inter-discipline approach becomes important. The reality of how high the complexity of the universe and social environment are, finally creating biophysics, Computational Chemistry, Econophysics, Computational Sociology, Cognitive Science, Revolutionary economic, and more that picture how science should cross here and there beyond its development.
Modern science is based elementary on how human see the world, where classic geometry is its foundation. Science history is finally aware that fractal sees the world better and more accurately. Fractal nature based study aware of the imperfectness of general model and one of them is shown with science of dimension in non integers number but fractions.

Reality that batik has fractal nature as it shows that there is a hidden wisdom in delineating world which in unlike Aristotelian geometric that we know. It is very implicit in batik works. If arts and culture and modern science have interacted as we know now, then it is obvious batik works culture has interacted with people living in Indonesian archipelago. If fractal has inspired change and become source of science creativity and progressiveness in various facets in the form of interdisciplinary, it is possible that batik can inspire and used as source of creativity for better point of view about the universe.

Probably Indonesian language for interdisciplinary is gotong royong as geometric of Indonesia people is batik. Invention of fractal in batik (as in other old and classic arts and culture aspects that was not yet influenced strongly by Greek and Rome such as China, India and Arab) gives us a warning that we should change our point of view about tradition and cultural heritage. Enjoying batik is unlike enjoying perspective  painting. Solving problems in mono-discipline way we is never same with using interdisciplinary way.

Fractal reality in batik becomes very important, as visual cultural aspect is closely related to Indonesian culture and civilization.

Source: Fisika Batik by Tim Peneliti Bandung Fe Institute Hokky Situngkir & Rolan Dahlan